Escape means for a submarine when submerged



June 7, 1932. M CL ESCAPE MEANS FOR A SUBMARINE WHEN SUBMERGED Filed Jan. 31, 1950 ATT NEY Patented June 7, 1932 UNITED; STATES JOHN M. CLARK, OF NEWIYOBK; NMYA ESCAPEIMEANS R SUBM NET:WHEN BME GED.

Application fiied January 31, 1930." Serial Ne 124,750.

The device, the subject A of this invention, is,

intended as ameansfor providing egress or escapefrom a submarine avlienthe submarine is submerged and particularly at, such time '5 asawhen-it .isfoundthat through failureof themachmery or otherwise the submarlne cannet-.:aga1nreach the surface,

I am aware that other suggestions ofthis. nature have been made ibutfin this invention- IQ it has been-my .object to construct a device simple of operation and while efficient, yetsosmall that it-will not take an-c amount Of space required forother devices and such as are commontoa submarine and necessaryior 1 l the functioning of the submar-ineras such.

A-JllllllbGI'nOf these escape means may the providedbutltwould. suggest that they be, arranged one forward and oneaft and 11f room isiound, andv it. is: otherwise. ifo'und convenie-nt, that one be established at approximately-the midship section.

Another objectlofztheinvention-is to pro vide means which willmake it possibleufor the meninthe submarine to assist-in the dis- -charge of each successive man and then to make it possible for the -last-man' to leave the submarine.

Another object isto provide a device ofthis type whichmayabe employedagain and utilization of an-outside lifting force; in other words the device itself, is not buoyant and is a of addednegative buoyancy. when supporting .theaveight of a man of ordinary SlZG- Another object oi-the invention .is to provide necessary-:lauxiliaries suchias an interior signallin g. system, oxygentanksand lime containers so that life may be supported within the d'evice for thelongest possibleiperio'd of time.v Themeans for carryingout the fore? going objectsand othersnot-particularly pre'-..

' again auditor .that. reasonl provide for the;

Figure'JQ is an enlargedsectional:view:of the container.

Figure 3 is a sectional view. taken on about: the; line .3 of-Figure .2 andviewed in the direction of the-arrow.v

Figure is a view-on the. line 4%;0f Fig? ure 2 and viewed in the direction of the arrow;

Figure 5 is a top plan View, and

Figure 6' is, aside: elevation of azpartre-i 601 movedi Similar reference numerals indicate like 1 parts in all theufigureswhere they appear.-v

The portion ofthesubmarine shown is as; dicatedat 1; The submarine. maybe of anyh desired shape or sizeand the bulkheads 2 and 3 may or may not be decks The upper bulkhead2 will;probablybe a deck. The lower bulkhead-*3 will probablyindicate a twin deck;enclosingchamber for a valve luwhich is-an exaggerated gatevalve in that this valve iswconstructed with asliding member, but room must be provided. in the extensionl5 5 so 7, thatzthe: slide can be fully withdrawn to allow: a clear passage through this.-valve.-.. The valvelwill of course be secured by regular flanges and gaskets, as suggest-ed at 6,if such are" required In thespace between blll'ka heads 2 and 3 I arrange another valve as shown at This is a flooding valve and will 01- be ireferrednto later.

Secured tothe under side of the bulkhead I 3 and through the medium of, gaskets 8-ifsuch is found desirable, is a cylindrical memher 9; Into the side of this cylindrical member Iintroduce a flooding valve 10; At the bottom ofgthe cylindrical member is'a valve 11 similar -in all respects to the valve' 5 and having anextension 12 for the reception of theval'vedisc, I may or may not providef a ladder 13,,unde r the cylindrical member 9 for a purpose. that will; appear obvious, as. the specification progresses;v

It will benotedthatthere-is a passagell l thro gh h b lkh a 2 and a p sage h oughzthe bulkhead 3 Normally arranged within the cylindrical; member-9 as the escapecylinder 16 havingian; eye blockflli rand; guide shandles :18? secured at the upper end thereof. This escape cylinder is best seen in Figure 2.

The escape cylinder 16 is provided with a head 19 which supports eye block 17 and the handles 18 which may be formed integrally therewith. Through the head 19 I arrange bulls eyes 20 and 21 which may be provided with lenses but which of course must be water tight. On the inner side of the head 19 will be noted a reflector 22 to reflect the light from the lamp 223 recessed in the head 19. A battery for this lamp may also be arranged in the recess 24 wherein the lamp is contained.

Secured to the innerside of the head 19are lugs 25 and 26, each supporting a tension hook, the hooks being shown at 27 and 28. These hooks are adapted to receive chains 2930 which will be later referred to. The head 19 may be screw-threaded to the escape cylinder 16 or otherwise secured thereto. Ordinarily it will never be found desirable to remove this head 19. IVithin the cylinder 16 I arrange two ladders or two series of hand-hold members as shown at 31 and 32, these hand-hold members being arranged at opposite sides of the cylinder. Within the cylinder is an oxygen tank 33 and a lime container 34 for emergency use, the lime container being intended to contain a quantity of a lime derivative which absorbs the carbon monoxide exhaled in breathing by the person within the cylinder 16.

The chains 29 and30 are provided with turn buckles as shown at 35 and 36, and the lower ends of these chains are engaged in lugs 37, 38, the lugs being secured to the enclosure plate 39 for the cylinder 16. This plate 39 may be removed at will and will be removed for the entry of a person into the cylinder 16." Ordinarily the plate or disc 39 will be retained in position by a bar 40 operating on lugs 41 and 42 found in the cylinder walls. The bar may be rotated .and later secured by means of a hand wheel 43 exterior of the plate or disc 39.

The disc 39 will be placed in position and secured by means exterior of the cylinder 16 under ordinary conditions. That is, when a man is to leave the submarine by means of the cylinder 16, theother men in the submarine will secure the disc 39 in position. But when the last man is to leave the submarine he will first draw up the plate, kick over the clamping bar 40 as far as possible, and then by means of the lever hooks 2-7 and 28 draw up on the chains 29 and 30, thus securing the disc in a water tight association with the cylinder 16. The details of the hooks 27 and 28 are shown in Figure 6.

In the operation of my device, communication having been established, a diver is lowered to the deck of the sunken submarine. I

A man then enters the cylinder 16, the disc is placed in position, the valve 12 closed, and thereupon a diver opening the by-pass 44 will equalize this pressure on the valve 4, whereupon this valve will be opened and the diver will engage a hook into the eye-block 17 and thereafter the cylinder 16, and its occupant is raised to the surface, the disc 39 removed, and the occupant leaves the cylinder.

The cylinder may be employed again and again, the disc 39 being replaced for each lowering, and when the cylinder 16 is within the casing 9 and the valve 4 closed, the bleeder valve 10 is opened to allow the water in the casing 9 to escape and to make it possible to open the valve 11.

When the last man is in the escape cylinder 16 the valve 11 cannot be closed. Therefore,

because of the additional pressure on the exterior of the submarine, it will probably be found impossible to withdraw the'escape cylinder 16. Under such conditions the diver opens the equalizing valve 7 allowing water to enter the chamber of the submarine and the pressure therein to become equalized with the exterior pressure and thereafter the escape cylinder 16 can be withdrawn without difliculty.

For the purposes of controlled signalling with the exterior the mirrors 22 may be hinged so that they can be moved back and forth to change the intensity of the light reflected from the lamp 23. The size of all of the parts or the peculiar construction thereof may be changed to accomplish desired purposes and other modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the principle or sacrificing the advantages of the invention.

Having carefully and fully described my invention, what I claim and what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An escape means for a submarine comprising a cylindrical casing, a cylinder contained therein means for sealing said cylinder from the interior or exterior thereof, one said means comprising a plurality of chains having lever operated hooks therein for securing certain parts of each said chain.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with a submarine of a valve pocket, a plurality of valves in said pocket and shielded thereby, a casing secured at the inner side thereof, a normally closed casing within. said first mentioned casing, a plurality of means for closing said normally closed casing, one of which is a quick operating adjustable means, and means for securing a hoisting means to said normally closed casing.

JOHN M. CLARK. 

